Utah’s NHL team is going on the offensive, suing a hockey bag company in hopes of having the courts step in and resolve a trademark dispute.
The Utah Mammoth hockey team filed the lawsuit this month against Mammoth Hockey LLC, sellers of “high-end hockey bags.”
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, the hockey bag company supported the NHL team adopting the Mammoth name — which it did after gathering public input over the course of last season — “and even approached [the team] about a possible collaboration.” But in June, the bag company “reversed course,” the lawsuit alleges, and claimed the NHL team’s name violated trademark rights.
The bag company has since threatened litigation in “some unknown forum, at some unknown time,” the lawsuit states.
(Mammoth Hockey) The equipment bag, with Mammoth logo, that the company makes.
“The uncertainty created by [the bag company’s] actions, which has persisted for months, with no action as of yet, has become intolerable,” lawyers for the Utah Mammoth wrote in the lawsuit.
The Mammoth and its owners, SEG Hockey, have asked the courts to settle the trademark issue under the U.S. Declaratory Judgement Act.
“Utah Mammoth and the NHL believe strongly that we have the right to use the name Utah Mammoth under federal and state law, and that our use will not harm the defendant or its business in any way,” Smith Entertainment Group said in a comment to The Salt Lake Tribune. “We have taken this action only after careful consideration based on the defendant’s position. We are not able to comment further on ongoing legal matters.”
(Mammoth Hockey) The logo for Mammoth Hockey, the company for hockey-equipment bags.
Mammoth Hockey did not immediately respond for comment.
Utah Mammoth was first announced as a possible name for the state’s NHL team in April 2024 and was then revealed as a finalist in January 2025. The Mammoth was cemented as the team identity in early May 2025.
(Lawsuit Document) Plaintiff provides screenshot of a Facebook post from the defendant supporting the team name in June 2024.
Documents included in the lawsuit show that Mammoth Hockey reached out to Utah Mammoth president Chris Armstrong’s assistant in April 2025, asking to collaborate with SEG if the Mammoth name was chosen.
SEG Hockey also provided a June 7, 2024, Facebook post from the defendant that included a screenshot of an NHL story about the naming process with “Mammoth” circled in yellow. The caption of the post was, “We’re pretty partial to this one,” with a winking, tongue-out emoji.
(SEG) All of the Utah Mammoth marks that were created for the permanent branding of the team.
When Mammoth Hockey reportedly changed its stance in June, SEG responded in a letter detailing that it disagreed with the position. The NHL team alleges Mammoth Hockey “does not maintain and has never filed” any trademark application for the “Mammoth” designation in the United States. It also pointed out the differences in design between the two logos, namely, color and shape.
Mammoth Hockey says it has operated since 2014.
The bag company has argued it is “highly likely that consumers will confuse the two marks, risking our client’s business and operations. Hockey enthusiasts who pledge support for a team other than Utah Mammoth will not purchase goods from our client due to the consumer’s mistaken belief that such a purchase would support a rival team.”